When Hamilton and area was first settled in the latter part of the 18th century, the area was a wooded, unpopulated wilderness. It has been noted in early descriptions that in these very early years there were more snakes than people in the area.

Since nothing was here, everything had to be created fresh. The first settlers in each township built their houses and began to start families and cultivate the land. As their families grew, so did the need for churches and schools and the other amenities of civilized life.

There is always the first person to do any number of things starting with the first person who actually arrives at a new location and decides to stay.

There have been many firsts in the history of Hamilton, some all but forgotten while others are well documented or living on only in our own memories. First Here tells the story of some of the well known as well as some of the all but forgotten first things and events in Hamilton's history.